Bonds of Love

Chapter 3

A/N: hello, readers! I'm so sorry this took so long to post. I've been quite busy trying to cope with everything crazy that's been going on in my life. This chapter might be a little shorter because I've been reading all of your lovely and persistent reviews, asking for updates, so I wanted to hurry and post what I already had. Some of the next chapter has been completed, so hopefully life will stay sane and I will be able to update much faster! And if I can't, please know that I would never abandon any of my stories, no matter how long it may take me to update. Without further ado, here is Chapter 3 of Bonds of Love! Please Read and Review!

The car was waiting for them as they crossed the deserted parking lot.

The drive home was quiet. Emily was staring out the window, watching the scenery pass them by. J.J was rubbing her eyes and yawning, trying not to fall asleep in the car. Spencer was fidgeting nervously and whispering questions in Derek's ear. Derek was patient, but didn't have the answers for most of his questions about where they were going. The only thing he could say with absolute certainty was that he would do everything in his power to make it a safe place to stay.

Aaron pulled up to the apartment complex around seven-fifteen. Despite her best efforts, J.J had fallen asleep in the car, and Emily gently shook her awake and moved her off of her lap. Derek moved Spencer off of his lap, but the anxious boy still clung to him. Aaron opened the car door on one side and Rossi got the other side open. The kids stepped out hesitantly as Aaron and Rossi made their way toward the door to the lobby.

The kids followed the adults into the building, Derek taking the lead so that he could scout the territory ahead for any danger that may lurk within.

He needn't have bothered. It was a nice apartment complex, with a nearby playground. Spencer and J.J looked curiously at it as they passed by. Aaron made a mental note to take them to the playground the following day. It had probably been years since any of them had really played, yet alone at the park. It was long overdue.

The night shift was entering the building through the service entrance. Two staff, a man and a woman, were joking around as the came in. Upon taking a look at the children, however, that stopped abruptly. The woman whispered to the man, who was staring at them in mild shock. She gave Aaron and Rossi a dirty look.

Aaron realized that they were probably taken off guard by the state of the children- they were all dirty, and wearing torn clothes that didn't fit. Not to mention Emily and Derek's faces and arms were noticeably bruised. It must have looked like these kids were being abused and neglected. Which they had been, but not by Aaron, which seemed to be what the night staff were thinking.

Rossi seemed to grasp what they were thinking at the same time as Aaron. Not wishing for the younger man to get a Child Protective Services report filed on him, Rossi stopped at the front desk and introduced himself.

"Hello, my name is Agent David Rossi. I'm from the Behavioral Analysis Unit of the FBI. These children were victims in our last case. I will be watching Agent Aaron Hotchner's apartment tonight. If you see anything suspicious, please give me a call." He wrote his number down on the pad of paper on the desk. "Thank you very much."

The clearly contrite night staff muttered their assent.

The elevator was out of service, so they ascended the stairs to the fourth floor. When they arrived, Aaron led Rossi and the kids to the third door on the left side of the hallway. He took out his key and unlocked the door, pushing it open with his foot and flicking the light switch on the wall inside. The living room was flooded with light, revealing a small television set, a leather couch, and a small coffee table with books upon it. To their left was a tiny kitchen with a refrigerator, stove, and old-fashioned coffee maker.

Aaron led the kids down the short hallway, just past the kitchen. There was one bedroom on the left, another directly across from it, and a bathroom at the end of the hallway.

He gestured to the bedroom on the right. "This is where I sleep, and over there," he pointed to the left one, "is where you guys will sleep." He walked over and opened the door to reveal a yellow bedroom with a queen size white bed, a white dresser, a small closet, and a white and yellow striped rug.

J.J and Spencer stared at the room in awe. Compared to the attic and basement where they had been kept hostage, it looked to them like a room out of a fairytale palace. Derek and Emily, on the other hand, looked almost sad. Aaron and Rossi figured that the sight of the bedroom probably triggered long ago memories of their own homes.

Emily turned around and gave the agents a slight smile. "Thank you." She said it simply, but the men could both feel all the kids' gratitude for the safety they were providing, even if Derek was still suspicious of their motives.

"You're welcome. It's getting late, so you should probably go to sleep soon. But before you do, would you all like to take a shower? Or a bath?" Aaron offered kindly.

Emily's brown eyes lit up with excitement. "Yes." She answered immediately.

Derek looked at her in surprise. Usually Emily would see what he thought about it before she made a decision. But he hadn't seen Emily quite so pleased in a long time, so he nodded his agreement. "But..." He added, gaining the attention of both of the agents, "nobody looks at us at all. And you can't come in to help us."

Rossi raised his eyebrows. Aaron just closed his eyes and sighed. Both were thinking similar thoughts- Derek's determined tone was masking fear. If he was afraid of people looking, and afraid of help, then someone in his past may have looked at him naked, and it was possible that someone had abused the term "help". "Help in the shower" may have been a cover for sexual abuse.

Spencer had noticed the change in Derek's demeanor. He took the few steps necessary to reach his protector, put his little hand in the older boy's one, and squeezed as hard as he could. "It's okay." He whispered quietly.

Derek looked down at the younger boy and smiled softly. "Thanks, Pretty Boy." He said back, looking a bit less fearful now. "I'm fine. Let's go take a bath." He tousled Spencer's hair and Spencer giggled.

Aaron stopped by his room and took four clean shirts from his dresser. He gave them to Derek for the kids to change into after their baths. Everyone walked toward the bathroom, but J.J sighed and dragged her feet. Emily noticed and told her, "It's okay. The bath is fun. And I won't let anything hurt you." She stroked the little girl's long blond hair reassuringly.

J.J nodded, but seemed unconvinced, staring at the floor morosely as Emily turned the tap on. When the tub was halfway filled, Derek announced, "I'm closing the door now." He pushed it shut before either agent could reply.

They listened closely at the door for a few minutes, but heard no signs of distress, so they walked to the living room and sat on the couch.

"So..." Rossi broke the silence. "They seem like some good kids. A little scared, but nice kids."

Aaron smiled. "Yeah." He answered quietly. "I wonder how long they'll be here."

"Probably for a while. This UNSUB is intelligent. He might know how to avoid capture for long periods of time. But we'll find the asshole." Rossi paused. "Do you think Derek was sexually abused by our UNSUB?"

Aaron unconsciously clenched his fists in anger. "I don't know for sure. But my instincts tell me no. They rest of the kids didn't seem like they understood what he meant. Only Spencer realized that he was scared, and he didn't seem to know why, exactly." He paused. "What do you think about J.J? She didn't seem to want to go anywhere near the bath. What do you think happened to her?" He asked, trying to keep his concern out of his voice.

Rossi sighed. "I don't know. We may not find out what exactly happened to any of them right away. But with Gideon and Elle interviewing them, the truth will come out eventually."

They sat in silence for a few minutes before the sound of the water faucet turning off reached their ears. This door squeaked open a couple minutes later. The sound of children's steps sounded down the hallway as they came into the living room. Each of them were wearing the t-shirts Aaron had given them in place of pajamas.

Aaron bit back a smile. It was a comical sight. The kids were nearly drowning in his shirts, especially Spencer, who was dressed in an old FBI t-shirt of his. Rossi was silent, his mind whirring at great speed as he considered something.

"Can we go to bed?" J.J asked softly, yawning. Emily looked to Aaron for an answer, seeming pretty tired herself. Spencer was sleepily rubbing his eyes with his fist as he held Derek's hand. Derek was looking weary as well, but Aaron got the feeling that he wasn't going to sleep that night.

Aaron smiled. "Yeah." He answered her, "Let's go." Aaron and Rossi stood and followed the kids into the hallway and into the room that they were occupying. Spencer and J.J climbed into bed first, and Emily leaned down to give them both a hug before climbing into bed beside J.J. Derek climbed in beside Spencer.

"Should I leave the light on or off?" Aaron asked them.

Spencer looked at him shyly. "Can we keep it on?" He asked in a small voice. "I don't like the dark."

"Of course." Aaron reassured calmly. "Good night, guys."

"Good night." Chorused J.J and Spencer. Emily gave them a small smile and Derek nodded uncomfortably.

"Sleep tight," Rossi added with a warm smile.

They shut the door behind them quietly.

As they moved to return to the living room, they heard Derek add quietly, "Pretty Boy, Jayje, Em... I love you guys."

"Love you too." The younger kids chorused, as Aaron's heart squeezed with that emotion that he had been trying to ignore since he had met them. The feeling that said, 'These kids are important to you.' It was beginning to become familiar to him.

"You alright?" Rossi's voice broke him out of his thoughts.

Aaron shook himself out of his emotional mindset. "Yeah." He answered shortly. "Let me get you some sheets."

Almost five hours later, Rossi was settled on the couch fast asleep, and Aaron was in his own bed, having checked on the children every half-hour. Each time Derek was the only one awake when Aaron had opened the door. Aaron asked him if he needed anything and offered him a glass of water, but he shook his head stubbornly and glared at him until he left.

Aaron wasn't getting much sleep himself, his mind racing with thoughts of these kids and what was going to happen to them. Suddenly, a high pitched scream echoed throughout the silent apartment. Aaron bolted upright and ran into the opposite room. Rossi was right behind him.

Aaron entered the room in a mild panic, his heart pounding as Rossi drew his weapon in case the UNSUB had somehow entered the apartment. But there was no current physical threat behind the scream.

Spencer was in the middle of what looked to be a terrifying nightmare, and was surrounded by a whole team of protectors. J.J and Emily were holding each of his little hands in their own, and Derek was stroking his hair and speaking calmly to him. "It's okay, Pretty Boy. I've got you, no one's going to hurt you ever again."

Aaron and Rossi stood back and watched. Rossi holstered his weapon, and Aaron's heart rate slowly returned to normal. Spencer kept crying, apparently stuck in his painful memories. "Mommy, help! No Daddy! I'm sorry, stop it!" He struggled in Derek's arms, searching the room for his mother and father. His eyes were wide and panicky until they landed on J.J. Then they visibly calmed as he took in the sight of Emily and realized Derek was the one holding him. He clenched Derek's torn shirt in his little fists and started sobbing. Derek continued to speak softly to him, reminding him that nobody was going to hurt him. Spencer calmed down a few minutes later, wiping his eyes with his fists and sniffling. "Sorry." He apologized quietly.

"Don't be sorry." Derek said reassuringly. "It's okay."

Aaron and Rossi returned to their respective sleeping arrangements a few minutes later. There was no more disturbances for the rest of the night and into the morning, save for Derek getting J.J a glass of water around three a.m. He didn't sleep.

It was about seven o'clock a.m when Aaron woke up to the sound of whispering coming from the room that the children were occupying. He heard Spencer first. "I'm hungry. Do we get to eat?" Spencer asked Emily.

"I don't know. We can ask-" Emily started before the sound of the door opening cut her off. Aaron popped his head in.

"Good morning." He smiled at the kids. "Do you all want breakfast? I think I have some Cheerios."

Spencer lit up. "I love Cheerios!" He said excitedly. "Did you know that there are thirteen flavors of Cheerios produced in the United States of America? The brand was created in 1941, and was originally called 'Cheeri-Oats!'"

Aaron grinned back, pleased that the youngest boy had seemingly recovered from his night terror. "I didn't know that, actually. What else do you know about Cheerios?"

Spencer continued to babble on about his favorite cereal on the way to the kitchen. Aaron noticed that he was moving his hands in an odd way as he spoke animatedly. It reminded him of the hand movements of children on the autistic spectrum. The other kids were unfazed by this behavior, so Aaron figured that it must not be abnormal for them to see the youngest like this.

He had been less focused on the child's words than his hands, so he hadn't been paying close attention to the details of what Spencer was saying until he said, "My mommy used to give me Cheerios every morning!" His little face darkened as he added, "Daddy hated them."

"Oh, yeah?" Aaron asked, trying not to sound intrigued. He knew that if he showed too much interest in the subject of the children's past, then he would scare them off of it completely. So he busied himself pouring small bowls of cereal, adding milk, and setting them in front of the kids.

"Yeah." Spencer said quietly, staring down at his bowl of cereal forlornly. He didn't offer any more on the subject, and Aaron didn't push the topic.

Aaron had already given a bowl to Derek, Spencer, and J.J., and Emily was waiting politely for her own to arrive when a loud snore startled the occupants of the kitchen.

They all turned around to see Rossi still sleeping soundly on the couch, flopped down in an awkward position. J.J and Spencer looked at each other and giggled as Emily stifled a smile. Even Derek was struggling to mask his amusement. Aaron rolled his eyes and smiled a little.

"Dave." He called. No response. "Dave!" Still nothing. "ROSSI!" He yelled.

Rossi startled upright, reaching for his gun, which was under his pillow. Luckily, he caught himself and stopped just in time. He glared grumpily at the kitchen residents, who were laughing as if he were on Comedy Central.

"All right, all right. Yak it up, kiddos." He stood and stretched, scratching his stomach lazily. "What's for eating?"

Aaron didn't bother to hold back his grin as he answered. "Cheerios. They used to be called 'Cheeri-oats' back in 1941, did you know that?"

"No." Rossi grumbled tiredly. "Why do you even know that?"

"Spencer taught me." Aaron answered, gesturing to Spencer, who smiled, proud of himself.

"Wait..." Rossi, who was more awake now, and therefore more alert, spoke up. "We're having cold cereal? Hotch, didn't your mom ever teach you how to cook?" He started rifling through the cabinet until he found a suitable breakfast. "Here we go. Aunt Jemina's Pancake Mix. That's more like it. Where do you keep your frying pan?"

Aaron rolled his eyes and pointed to the cabinet above the sink. Rossi reached up to retrieve it.

Fifteen minutes later, the children were finishing their last pancakes, having forgotten the last time they had eaten a decent breakfast in years. Emily was the first to speak. "Thank you." She said quietly. The agents could hear the sincerity and gratefulness in her tone. Derek nodded stiffly as J.J and Spencer gave them small smiles.

"You're welcome." Rossi said, smiling back at them. "So, I called Elle last night. Do you guys remember her?" The kids all nodded, remembering the nice lady with the Kid Catcher. "Well, she's bringing over a pair of clothes for each of you that she thinks might fit. Since you have to be properly dressed for such a big day."

Aaron's confusion showed as clearly as the kids'. "What do you mean, Dave?" He asked suspiciously.

"We..." Rossi paused for dramatic effect, "are going shopping!"

Aaron just stared at his coworker in disbelief.

A/N: okay, lovely readers, here you go. I hope you enjoyed the read! Thank you all so much for your persistence in writing lovely reviews to encourage me to update - they are most certainly working! Please Review if you enjoyed or have some Constructive Criticism!